GLEANINGS FROM THE CALCUTTA MARKET. 495 



Irides deep brown ; bill perfectly black (not a bit greenish) 

 as Dresser says ; legs and feet drab, with an olive tinge, (not 

 the faintest approach to blue grey as Dresser calls them) ; the 

 webs, except immediately alongside the toes, (where they are 

 unicolorous with these) and claws dusky black. 



A frontal spot ending in a point on the culmen, about 04 

 long and 0*3 wide, pure white. 



The lores, forehead, crown and lower portion of cheeks a 

 rich ruddy purple or chocolate bronze ; the rest of the cheeks, 

 sides of the head, and occiput emerald green in most lights, iu 

 a few ruddy, or even rosy bronze ; the feathers of the hinder 

 crown, occiput and nape are lengthened so as to form a 

 considerable mane-like crest; the chin and entire throat 

 snow white, then a black ring all round the neck, with dark 

 green or greenish blue reflections ; the white of the throat 

 runs in a little point iuto this ring and half divides it ; then 

 a white ring; then the front and sides of the neck, breast 

 and abdomen (except quite the lower part) white, each feather 

 with a broad subterminal black bar following the curve of the 

 end of the feather ; those of the neck with these bars very 

 perfect and strongly marked, and with similar though not 

 quite so well-marked bars within the outer one, higher up ; those 

 of the breast and upper three-fourths of the abdomen, with only 

 the single bar, and this more or less imperfect ; back of the 

 neck (below the white ring), interscapulary region, smaller 

 scapulars, sides of breast, sides, flanks, lower portion of abdomen 

 and feathers about vent, closely barred, in some places almost 

 vermiculated, black, or dusky, and white or grej-ish white, 

 in varying degrees of fineness and intensity; entire wings 

 and larger scapulars dove or grey brown, darker on the 

 quills ; the outer webs of all the secondaries black, with dull 

 metallic green lustre, their greater coverts broadly tipped white, 

 they themselves narrowly so. 



Middle and lower back and rump dark rather glossy hair 

 brown; a few of the feathers with traces of fine pale vermi- 

 culations ; shorter central upper tail-coverts similar, but a paler 

 greyer brown; rest of upper tail-coverts jet black, with a sub- 

 dued green lustre ; tail a delicate, somewhat silvery, grev 

 brown, almost completely covered by the long black upper tail- 

 coverts ; entire wing-lining and axillaries pure white ; the 

 lowest flank feathers on each side, with broad, pure-white, unbar- 

 red tips, most of lower tail-coverts black, with a faint greenish 

 lustre ; shorter lateral lower tail-coverts on either side pure 

 creamy buff. 



This patch of creamy white is not as Dresser seems to think, 

 and as he figures it, on each side of the tail ; on the contrary 



63 



